Culture Lesson Time!!!! 🙂 In Hispanic countries last names are very interesting… They keep both the names of their parents… For example, my name would be Eric Laurence Swenson Woolley. Isn’t that really weird/cool! It was super confusing when I first got here because the woman never changes her last name when they get married. So the family name is always both names of the husband and wife. So the Swenson Woolley family would be our name. Thought you would enjoy that. 🙂

Work is PROGRESSING here in Zacatelco!!! I love this ward so much and the people that I teach everyday are so incredible. I truly love getting in the groove of an area and being able to just feel where we should go. It is really cool how the spirit works with missionaries. I am just so glad to be in this area.

We have a 9 year old named Emmanuel who will be baptized on Friday 🙂 He is a son of a recently reactivated mother, his sister is a recent convert, his dad is an investigator who knows the church is true but because he isn’t married to Hna. Sonia (Emmanuel’s mom) he cannot get baptized… they said that they will be able to have the money to get married in a month. They are a great family and I am excited to have a baptism so quickly here in Zacatelco.

We had a couple investigators come to church yesterday 🙂 When you are in the mission investigators always say, “Sure we will be there on Saturday” So when we only stopped by downtown to see an investigator that Elder Logroño told me about that we had never seen, and Hna. Laura said “Oh we will be there at 10!” I never thought they would actually show up. Hna. Laura, her 2 sons, and her mother came. They LOVED it and Laura’s mother said… We are going to be here every week. I am sad that we can’t visit them in their house this week because they will be working, but we will visit them downtown. They are GOLDEN! This was all because of our fast yesterday dedicated to finding new investigators and having our investigators progress. Fasting does miracles, I am 100% convinced.

Listen to this. Zacatelco is having a Zumba Marathon with 10 instructors. Dance til you drop!!! Starting at 8 until you cannot dance more…… how I wish I could go.It is today 😦 Bahahahah!

Yesterday, church was so incredible and I just sat there thinking how much I have been blessed and how genuinely happy I am. Truly, I have never been so happy in my entire life. Nothing compares to the happiness I feel. I wish I would have taken my youth more seriously. Studied my scriptures, prayed more, been a better son/better example, studied words of the prophets, and so much more. I know for a fact that I have changed and I have placed this time in my life to serve the Lord 24/7, but when this mission comes to an end, I will not stop preaching the gospel, and I will never stop the spiritual things that bring me so much happiness. This is the true church, I have no doubt.

Te amo MUCHO!

Make a difference this week 🙂

Elder Swenson

Counting Blessings: Saturday, a young couple from Puebla who come to Tlaxcala every weekend brought us KFC!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE KFC! It was SO yummy. 🙂